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Thursday, June 28, 2007

[CA] Ann's body never found, but ex-deputy Racz on trial for murder

Another trial in progress is that of former Los Angeles County sheriff's Deputy John Racz, whose wife Ann Racz disappeared without a trace April 22, 1991, four days after filing for divorce from her husband of 19 years. And while they never found Racz's body, investigators finally collected enough evidence for a murder charge.

Sheriff Lee Baca told the newspaper, "

In this case, it appears that the evidence has led us to one of our own. Murder under any condition is unacceptable. That a former deputy sheriff would be a suspect is unfathomable."Racz took leave before wife vanishedMurder suspect returned scratched, ex-boss saysLos Angeles Daily News, CA06/26/2007...Several witnesses have testified that when she moved out and filed for divorce, she feared what her husband might do to her. On Tuesday, Peter Danna, the former principal at the Compton elementary school where John Racz taught, testified that Racz called him April 18, 1991, to say his wife had left that day and taken the children... "He asked me, `Do you think I'm the kind of guy who would be violent?"'... Next, Racz asked if Danna thought he was a mean person and the kind who would hurt someone, Danna testified Tuesday. Danna answered no to both questions... Danna was on the stand a day after the Raczes' former pastor testified that he noticed scratches on John Racz's face and hand on April 25, 1991. Danna said Tuesday he noticed a scratch on John Racz's neck when the teacher returned to work on April 29, 1991... [neighbor Brenda] George said she was surprised by the way John Racz acted after his wife's disappearance... "He acted very indifferent, which surprised me because all of us - the neighbors, the friends, the school, the church - we were all concerned"...

Letter shows slain woman excited about rekindled loveLos Angeles Daily News, CA06/27/2007A man who was having an affair with suspected murder victim Ann Racz broke down in tears Wednesday as he read a letter from the woman at her husband's trial... Robert Russell, who had rekindled a high school romance with Ann Racz. Testifying for the prosecution, he read a letter from Racz dated three days after she moved out of her husband's house and the day before she disappeared. In the letter, Ann Racz wrote that she wanted to celebrate her split from her husband by making "sensuous mad love" to Russell... Judge Ronald Coen has refused to allow several of the letters to be introduced as evidence, ruling they were irrelevant and amounted to hearsay, but said the one read Wednesday was different. "It is a letter full of excitement, apparently about starting a whole new life with the person," Coen said in court, but outside the presence of the jury...

Wife's Lover Testifies Against RaczSignalThursday June 28, 2007Though she methodically planned her move from her family home on April 18, 1991, one day before serving her husband with divorce papers, Ann Racz was fearful of his response and told friends he was abusive and threatened to kill her, witnesses testified... "She said that he was abusive. That's all I really knew. I didn't push for details," Russell said. "She was worried and wanted to (move) quickly and silently. She feared some repercussions would occur"... Therese Thomas, a former librarian at William S. Hart High School where Ann volunteered ... said she and Ann became close while working at the school library and that Ann told her about her plans to divorce John Racz. "She told me she was afraid of her husband and that he had threatened to kill her if she ever tried to leave," Thomas said, and added that Ann told her John Racz kept guns in their home. "I should have taken it more seriously than I did"...

12 comments:

Occasionally I receive psychic messages. I don't need this to happen. I don't ask for this. I'm just a regular person, a retail store owner in Florida. The messages always turn out to be true. When I get these messages, they always come with an absolute feeling of validity. Anyway, I tuned into Dateline in the middle of the show last night. I got one of these strong messages. It was two words: Sierra Madre. I got a mental picture of barren hills and a crevice between two of them. As I didn't know anything about "Sierra Madre," what it could be etc., this morning I went to the internet. I learned it is a small town in the LA area near hills, mountains. Ann's body will be found in the area I have described near Sierra Madre. I send the family my love. jansfronk@aol.com

Glenn Racz’s 'probability' chartIs his father guilty of murder? A son comes to terms with his mother's disappearance by creating a probability chartDateline NBCupdated 4/20/2008 12:49:22 PM ET

Since the night of his mother’s disappearance in April 1991, Glenn Racz and his two sisters continued to live with their father. Glenn and his father developed a close relationship throughout those years, even as John Racz continued to be under a cloud of suspicion from law enforcement and Ann’s family. Could the father he loved and respected be truly guilty of murder?

As Glenn struggled to come to terms with the verdict for himself, he found it a useful exercise to write down his thoughts. As a self-styled “numbers man,” the idea of devising a probability chart to figure things out was very attractive to Glenn. It’s not that he thought that the jurors were wrong, but after 16 years, Glenn just needed to make this "calculation" to assure himself of the mathematical certainty of his father’s guilt.

Glenn told Dateline that he made the chart after his father was sentenced. While it is not a true probability chart, Glenn said seeing some of the facts on the paper helped him realize that in order for his mother, Ann, to still be on a vacation after 16 years, "she would have to have gone crazy."

After he made the chart, he could "exhale" and have a bit of peace about the outcome of the trial. Part of him was concerned about betraying his dad, but another part of him is glad to finally have the truth.

"Being in jail is the best thing for him, and his heart, and where he is. Maybe then he can come to a point of humility." Glenn has forgiven his father, but continues to hope that John Racz will tell the truth of what happened to his mother, Ann, and disclose where her body is buried.

August 30 2010[CA] Ex-Los Angeles County sheriff's Deputy Sgt. John Racz - An appeals court panel on Monday upheld a former sheriff's sergeant's conviction for the 1991 murder of his estranged wife, who disappeared four days after she left him and moved into a condominium in Newhall. The three-justice panel from California's 2nd District Court of Appeal rejected John Racz's claims that there was not substantial evidence that he killed Ann Mineko Racz and that the murder was committed with premeditation and deliberation... The woman, whose body was never found, was last seen on April 2, 1991.

SANTA CLARITA, Aug. 22, 2007 (KABC-TV) (KABC) -- Sixty-one-year-old John Racz, a former L.A. County sheriff's deputy, was convicted of first-degree murder in a San Fernando courthouse courtroom on Wednesday morning.

Racz was convicted of killing his wife, Ann Racz, who mysteriously disappeared from her Santa Clarita neighborhood in 1991. Ann Racz was estranged from her husband at the time of her sudden disappearance and she was seeking a divorce from him.

Authorities have always accused him of killing her, even though no body has ever been found, and years have passed since her disappearance.

Authorities arrested John Racz last October as he stepped off a plane at LAX from Thailand. He was charged with his wife's murder.

Despite a jury trial based on circumstantial evidence, the prosecutor said she was confident of a conviction.

"Given that she had filed for divorce, moved out of her husband's house four days before she disappeared, served him with papers three days before she disappeared, and told a number of her friends how afraid she was of him, yeah, I think it was a fairly compelling case," Beth Silverman, the prosecutor, said.

"Obviously, we are disappointed. My client has always maintained his innocence. I expect that there will be a motion for a new trial and an appeal," Philip Israels, the defense attorney, said.

"I think the fact is, is that after 16 years there were witnesses that were lost. There was an investigation that was almost impossible to do. And my client was put at a tremendous disadvantage," Israels said.

"Actually, I'm just pretty in shock right now. So ... it's just really crazy, sad news. I guess if I'm going to say something, I still love my dad and I love my mom. I just want everything to be ... I just want a good memory for my mom," Joann Racz said, moments after the verdict.

The sentencing phase of this trial is expected to begin in mid-September.

SAN FERNANDO, September 14, 2007 (KABC) -- Friday morning convicted murderer John Racz, a former L.A. County Sheriff's sergeant and former teacher entered a San Fernando court in a jail uniform and shackles. He looked back at his children before taking his seat. They're the same children who testified against him during the trial.

Upon his conviction last month, Racz was bound for prison for killing his wife Ann Racz.

Friday morning it was up to the judge to determine how long to keep him locked up, the maximum he faced was 25 years to life. It was a first degree murder conviction based on circumstantial evidence in a cold case 16 years old. That's when Ann Racz turned up missing from her Santa Clarita Valley neighborhood, four days after filing for divorce from John Racz.

On Friday morning, Racz, who never took the witness stand during the trial, decided to speak up and plead his innocence to the judge.

"I did not kill my wife. I raised my children the best I could. I'm a good father and I always, always was a good husband to Ann," John Racz said.

Family members of the victim addressed the court.

"I ask that you sentence John to the maximum time in prison which is not as long a sentence as he gave Ann. We do not know where Ann's body is buried. We hope that John will eventually tell us," Emiko Ryan, the victim's sister said.

"John Racz took away so many things with his selfish act 16 years ago. Auntie Ann had so much to live for and he destroyed the lives of so many," Kathy Ryan, the victim's niece, said.

Then it was time for sentencing.

"This case is a horrible example of greed and control gone awry. You are a murderer. How tragic. The defendant is sentenced to state prison for the term prescribed by law, which in this case is 25 years to life," Judge Ronald E. Coen, of San Fernando Superior Court, said.